We go hands-on with the Xiaomi Mi TV 2!

While Xiaomi has cut its teeth on smartphones, the innovative Chinese company has a whole lot of other devices up for sale, at least in its home market of China. Today, we’ll be looking at one such device, and it’s safe to say that everyone at Unbox wants to buy this little beauty when it finally makes it to our shores. We’re talking about Xiaomi’s Mi TV, their amazing 49-inch, 4K, 3D capable TV that starts at a paltry  RMB 3399 , or just Php 24931.

Xiaomi Mi TV 2 Specs

• 49-inch 4K panel by LG/CSOT, Passive 3D
• 1.45GHz quad-core, MediaTek MStar 6A918 processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 8GB of storage, expandable via microSD up to 64GB
• WiFi, Bluetooth

Initial impressions: a stunning TV powered by Android and Xiaomi’s UI

Just like Xiaomi’s smartphone offerings, the Mi TV 2 is just chock full of value when you consider the price to specs ratio. The TV sports a thin, 6.2mm bezel on both sides, as well as an overall thickness of just 15.5mm. At the middle of the lower bezel sits the company’s logo, but this isn’t just for looks – this is where the touch sensitive controls of the TV resides – you just tap the protruding plastic bar right below the Mi logo and scroll over to the function that you want. It’s pretty convenient, though it’s something that you won’t be doing a lot of because of the myriad of control options for the TV (more on this later). As far as connectivity goes, the Mi TV 2 has both WiFi and Bluetooth.

The Mi TV 2 manages to achieve its sexy, anorexic frame by removing the speakers that are traditionally placed within the TV and placing them in a wired sound bar and a Bluetooth sub-woofer with 8-inch drivers. The audio that these speakers could put out was substantial, and while they can’t compare to purpose built speakers and amps, they’re still great value. You will have to pay more to get them – the base price that we quoted above ( RMB 3399 or Php 24931) is just for the TV. To get the sound bar and the sub, you’ll have to add 4K more, as the bundle (with the TV) retails for RMB 3999, or around Php 29332.

You’ll be able to control the TV using the included Bluetooth remote, as well as your mobile device. What’s nice about the remote control on the Mi TV 2 is that you can set it to beep continuously (when it’s in range of the TV) when you can’t find it, which virtually eliminates the frustrating remote hunting ritual that always seems to happen when you’re ready to watch your favorite show. You can also ditch the remote entirely and control the Mi TV 2 using your phone by downloading Xiaomi’s remote control app, which makes controlling the TV quicker and easier. You can also transmit videos that you have on your phone directly to the Mi TV 2 via the app.

The Mi TV 2 is an Android powered smart-TV much like the offerings of other players like Sony, Samsung and LG. So it makes sense that the company injected their own UI into the Mi TV 2. The UI allows you to watch streaming content, listen to music (complete with album art and lyrics) as well as use purpose-built apps (there was a travel app inside the TV) as well as play games on it. It’s obvious that Xiaomi wants to sell not just the TV, but the entire ecosystem as well – services and all. In fact, it’s rather obvious that the the biggest hurdle right now to delivering the TV into the homes of people outside China is porting the UI to Western tastes – if you haven’t guessed yet from the photos, the UI of the TV is in Chinese. And while the English translation of the UI is finished, the fact is it’s not that simple – Xiaomi wants to sell the TV along with the software and the content when it finally launches.

We’ve been itching to try out the Mi TV 2 when Xiaomi officially entered the PH market a few months ago, and we weren’t disappointed by what we saw. The Mi TV 2 represents an enormous value for money, especially when you consider that comparable 4K TV sets with roughly the same features cost nearly four times as much as the Mi TV 2.